Thailand celebrates its 100 millionth vaccine, focuses on boosters

Health officials in Thailand celebrated the announcement that they have now administered its 100 millionth Covid-19 vaccine in the country. With the rise of the Omicron variant, more people are choosing to get the protection of a vaccine, and officials are working to rapidly increase the number of third dose booster shots administered within Thailand as many brands have now confirmed they remain effective against the new strain but require 3 doses.

A celebratory event was held to mark the 100 millionth vaccine administered in Thailand, with honorary plaques given to relevant agencies and personnel to show appreciation and build morale as the country continues to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul headed up the event, where they also handed out special awards for the 5 provinces with the most first dose vaccines administered and the 5 with the most coverage given to vulnerable groups. There was also recognition of provinces that had extraordinary vaccine management on a district level.

But not everything was awards and champagne, as Anutin warned that with the emergence of the Omicron variant, Thailand still has its work cut out for it. Third booster shots have been shown to provide strong protection against the new variant though.

With AstraZeneca recently announcing that Oxford University studies found that a booster shot of their vaccine provides strong protection against Omicron, the minister is recommending anyone who’s already been vaccinated with AstraZeneca to get a third dose using the same brand.

AstraZeneca joins Moderna and Pfizer, commonly used in Thailand for booster shots, as effective defences against Omicron when 3 doses are received. And so, Thailand is working to rapidly accelerate the administering of booster shots throughout the country as the Omicron variant has shown to be extremely transmissible, but in triple vaccinated people carries a much lower risk of death or severe symptoms.

SOURCE: National News Bureau of Thailand